Write a commentry on Jafar Panhai's, "The White Balloon".

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QUES: - WRITE A COMMENTARY ON JAFAR PANHAI’S, “THE WHITE BALLOON”

ANS: - The White Balloon, directed by Jafar Panahi, takes place on the eve of the Iranian New Year's day and is told from the view of the protagonist Razieh, a seven-year-old girl. To celebrate the New Year she desires a fat goldfish she sees in the shop - which costs 100 Tomans. Goldfish, for the Iranian celebrants, are symbols of life.

The audience then sees a small part of Tehran that is familiar to the girl but not really known to her. This is seen through her eyes as she walks home from shopping with her mother. She is constantly watched by her mother, but is curious about the shops and the group of men who are around the snake charmers. This is a place she is forbidden to go to. When the shoppers arrive home we are not shown the inside of their home, but we see their courtyard and we get a reasonable idea how this middle-class family lives. Eventually Razeih manages to bribe her brother by giving him her blue balloon; in exchange he will talk on her behalf to their mother.

 On the way to the market to get her fish, she stops to watch the snake charmers, which her mother has explicitly told her not to do. Naturally, within a few minutes, the snake charmer and his assistant end up with her money. They soon relent, however, and hand it back to her. Panhai pays particular attention to the snake charmers as it shows the viewers a glimpse into Iranian culture.

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At the market she enters into a discussion with the fish seller. It appears the goldfish she wants is more expensive than she thought. Razieh and the fish seller eventually reach an agreement on a price, but when she reaches for her money she discovers it's gone. A search reveals that she's dropped it down a grating outside a closed shop.

She has a number of encounters as she tries to find a way to retrieve the money. She waits patiently in the tailor shop next door, while the owner and a dissatisfied customer argue. Eventually her brother shows up. ...

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